Smead Capital Management Inc. Acquires 4,351,960 Shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE)

Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE - Free Report) TSE: CVE by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,416,146 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,351,960 shares during the period. Cenovus Energy accounts for 3.7% of Smead Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Smead Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.84% of Cenovus Energy worth $257,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,563,284 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $970,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,341 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 29.0% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 37,540,511 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $750,435,000 after acquiring an additional 8,438,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 216.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,927,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $678,250,000 after acquiring an additional 23,202,018 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 81.1% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 12,538,499 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $246,507,000 after acquiring an additional 5,613,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Cenovus Energy by 5.3% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,186,227 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $219,897,000 after acquiring an additional 562,663 shares during the last quarter. 51.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cenovus Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVE traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.05. 6,517,586 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,858,909. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $16.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.43. The stock has a market cap of $29.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 2.05. Cenovus Energy Inc. has a one year low of $14.69 and a one year high of $21.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE - Get Free Report) TSE: CVE last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.25 billion. Cenovus Energy had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The company's revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cenovus Energy Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cenovus Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.133 dividend. This is a boost from Cenovus Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Cenovus Energy's payout ratio is currently 36.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CVE. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Cenovus Energy from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Cenovus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cenovus Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Cenovus Energy Company Profile

Cenovus Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, refines, transports, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products in Canada and internationally. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Refining, and U.S. Refining segments.